Brentwood Academy football falls inches short in TSSAA semifinal loss to Baylor
Brentwood Academy's George MacIntyre, after an epic quarterback battle with Baylor's Whit Muschamp, did not get to see the result of the biggest play of the game.
It was a play MacIntyre set in motion by zipping a pass in the flat to Meyer Pereira, who ran down the right sideline before diving toward the goal line. Peneira knocked down the pylon, but a referee ruled he was about four inches shy of scoring as the final seconds ticked off the clock and visiting Baylor escaped with a 44-39 win in the TSSAA Division II-AAA state semifinals Friday night.
It sent Baylor (10-2) into the state championship game to play Montgomery Bell Academy (12-0).
"I didn't see it; I got hit," said MacIntyre, who only had 25 seconds left on the clock after Baylor's last touchdown to get his team in scoring position. "We had plenty of time on that last drive. We've always got a shot if we've got the ball at the end."
A throng of Brentwood Academy (9-3) players and fans gathered at the goal line to contest the call as the referees left the field.
MacIntyre, a sophomore and the grandson of former Vanderbilt coach George MacIntyre, couldn't say much more about the critical last play, but he talked about the duel he had with Muschamp, the son of former Florida and South Carolina coach Will Muschamp, now the co-defensive coordinator at Georgia who attended the game.
"We expected this kind of game; we expected a competitive game," MacIntyre said. "I thought we executed well. It was an unfortunate call at the end, but we'll be back."
MacIntyre and Muschamp became friends while attending a quarterback camp at Vanderbilt, so Muschamp was prepared for the back-and-forth game. The lead exchanged hands eight times and the score was tied twice.
"George is a really good player," Muschamp said. "At the camp we were at together at Vanderbilt I saw him throw it. He can sling it. I mean he's a really good player and their offense is really good. Their defense is really good too. They had a really good game plan. I'm just glad my guys came out on top."
The two quarterbacks dominated the action on offense.
Muschamp completed 24-of-34 passes for 464 yards with five touchdowns. He also scored a 1-yard rushing touchdown, which put Baylor up 38-32 early in the forth quarter.
MacIntyre completed 25-of-34 passes for 264 yards. He did not throw a touchdown but ran three yards for a score which put the Eagles up 22-17 in the second quarter.
Muschamp completed passes to six receivers, including Amari Jefferson, who had 10 catches for 208 yards and a touchdown. MacIntyre completed passes to nine receivers, including Ian Scott, who had nine catches for 116 yards.
Brentwood Academy running back Deuce Scott rushed for 145 yards on 26 carries and scored three touchdowns.
Baylor outgained Brentwood Academy 579 to 447 in total yards.
MacIntyre is the No. 2-ranked quarterback in country for the class of 2025. He is already being heavily recruited, having heard from every SEC team expect Missouri and Arkansas. He finished the season completing 175-of-270 passes for 2,341 yards with 19 TDs and four interceptions.
Muschamp, a junior, has received scholarship offers from Louisville, Appalachian State, Bowling Green, Georgia Southern and Eastern Kentucky.
Reach Mike Organ at 615-259-8021 or on Twitter @MikeOrganWriter.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: TSSAA playoffs: Whit Muschamp outduels Brentwood Academy's George MacIntyre
